Inventory & Costing Accountant - Manufacturing Firm

Corenza; India; On-site; INR 1,400,000 - 2,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Hitachi Vantara India Private Limited seeks an Inventory & Costing Accountant to own end-to-end inventory valuation, standard costing and variance analysis for the India manufacturing entity. The role requires deep costing technical judgement and disciplined, auditable manual control execution, with robust working papers defending every reconciliation and reserve computation.

The position covers standard costing revisions, overhead absorption, BOM/Routing audits, monthly variance analyses and

Qualifications

• CA or CMA/ICWA mandatory.
• 6+ years post-qualification experience.
• 4–5 years in manufacturing inventory accounting and standard costing.
• Experience with material, labour and overhead costing.

Responsibilities

• Own the annual standard cost revision - material, labour and overhead - with revision within 60 days after physical inventory.
• Maintain and validate overhead absorption rate and determine capitalise-versus-expense for abnormal variances under Ind AS 2.
• Prepare and present monthly manufacturing and purchase price variance analysis with documented root cause for variances above materiality.
• Audit bill-of-materials and routing accuracy against actual shop-floor practice.
• Reconcile inventory to GL and perpetual stock records monthly using manual working papers due to ERP reporting limitations.
• Plan and execute the annual physical inventory and design a cycle-count programme for high-value SKUs with 95% accuracy.

Skills

Standard costing

Variance analysis

Inventory valuation

Cycle counts

Internal controls

Transfer pricing

Education

Chartered Accountant (CA)

CMA/ICWA

Job description

About Company:

The company operates in the advanced electronics manufacturing industry, specializing in high-performance connectivity solutions for data transmission and communication systems.

Job Description:

Inventory & Costing Accountant:

Position Purpose:

This is a hands-on ownership role for a technically strong costing professional to take end-to-end responsibility for inventory valuation, standard costing, variance analysis and physical inventory control at the India manufacturing entity.

The role requires someone equally comfortable with deep costing technical judgement and with disciplined, Manual Control execution. Every reconciliation, variance and reserve computation must be built and defended through robust, auditable manual working papers.

Key Responsibilities:

Standard Costing & Cost Accounting:

• Own the annual (and any interim) standard cost revision - material, labour and overhead - ensuring revision within 60 days of the physical inventory, with a Controller-approved revision form and impact analysis before implementation.
• Maintain and validate the manufacturing overhead absorption rate and methodology and determine the correct capitalise-versus-expense treatment for abnormal production/volume variances under Ind AS 2.
• Prepare and present monthly manufacturing and purchase price variance analysis with documented root cause for every variance above the materiality threshold.
• Audit bill-of-materials and routing accuracy periodically against actual shop-floor practice.

Inventory Valuation & Reconciliation:

• Ensure inventory is valued at the lower of cost (FIFO or weighted average) and net realisable value across raw material, WIP (open orders and components), finished goods, in-transit and intercompany inventory.
• Reconcile every inventory category to the general ledger and to perpetual stock records monthly, using manually maintained working papers given known ERP reporting limitations.
• Age and investigate open work orders beyond 60 days; maintain the WIP valuation reconciliation to the GL with any difference provided for.
• Reconcile intercompany inventory positions and compute the monthly intercompany profit-in-inventory elimination reserve.

Physical Inventory & Cycle Counts:

• Plan and execute the annual physical inventory.
• Design and operate a cycle-count programme for high-value SKUs, sustaining at least 95% accuracy; revert to full counts if accuracy falls below this threshold.
• Prepare and obtain Controller approval for every physical inventory adjustment before it is posted.

Excess & Obsolete (E&O) Inventory:

• Compute and maintain the E&O reserve on the approved usage/backlog-based methodology, recomputed and sample-tested quarterly.
• Prepare and defend written justification for every management exclusion or inclusion that deviates from the standard E&O formula - re-justified each quarter, not carried forward by default.
• Perform net realisable value assessments and manage disposal of excess, obsolete and scrap inventory, including competitive dealer bidding, witnessed weighment and correct account posting - never blended into the scrap/rework variance account.

Transfer Pricing / Related-Party Inventory Support:

• Maintain documentation supporting arm's-length pricing for related-party inventory transactions, both inbound and outbound, in coordination with the Tax function.
• Support quarterly transfer pricing margin monitoring specific to inventory-related intercompany flows.

Customer Claims, MRO & Scrap:

• Reconcile customer quality/shortage claims to the credit note register.
• Maintain the MRO/spares perpetual record and support periodic physical verification.
• Own inventory receipt reconciliation discipline against the physical GRN book, given known ERP receipt-booking limitations.

Audit, Compliance & Internal Controls:

• Act as the primary control owner for all inventory-related controls and respond directly to statutory, internal and cost audit requests.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation for every judgemental inventory position - standards, E&O, variances, NRV - with a clear, dated paper trail.
• Support the annual cost audit where applicable under the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014, and maintain the prescribed cost records.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Partner with Production, Sourcing, Warehouse/Stores, Sales and Trade Compliance on inventory matters, including EOU duty-free procurement tracking, export documentation and customs valuation consistency.
• Work closely with the Assistant Controller and Finance Controller on month-end close, HQ/BPC reporting package inputs, and Board/Audit Committee reporting as required.

Qualifications & Experience:

• Chartered Accountant (CA) or Cost & Management Accountant (CMA/ICWA) - mandatory.
• 6+ years of post-qualification experience, including at least 4 - 5 years specifically in manufacturing inventory accounting, standard costing and .